Mont-Sainte-Anne Gondola Settlement (Quebec) — $5.1M CAD

Canadian Settlement · Claims Open

Current Status

Claims are open. The claim form and every supporting document must be submitted by November 20, 2026, which the court notice calls a strict deadline: claims filed after that date are refused. The Superior Court of Quebec approved the settlement on April 1, 2026. The administrator says payments are scheduled to go out between November 21, 2026 and January 19, 2027.

What Changed Recently?

Two class actions over the gondola stops, Gagnon v. Station Mont-Sainte-Anne Inc. and Anctil v. Station Mont-Sainte-Anne Inc., were joined and authorized by the Superior Court of Quebec on February 10, 2021. They sought damages on behalf of riders who were inside the resort's gondola lift when it came to an abnormal and sudden stop on February 21 or March 11, 2020.

The parties reached an agreement in principle in December 2025, and on April 1, 2026 Justice Jacques G. Bouchard approved the settlement. Station Mont-Sainte-Anne Inc. and the companies it brought into the case as warranty defendants, including Hydro-Québec and Doppelmayr Canada Ltée, agreed to pay $5.1 million CAD jointly, in proportions agreed among themselves, without any admission of liability. Under the court-ordered approval notice, the claim period runs six months from the notice's publication, ending November 20, 2026.

Who Qualifies?

The settlement covers two groups defined by the court:

• Anyone who, on February 21, 2020, was aboard the Mont-Sainte-Anne ski resort gondola when it abnormally and suddenly stopped.
• Anyone who, on March 11, 2020, was aboard the Mont-Sainte-Anne ski resort gondola when it abnormally and suddenly stopped.

The groups include minors, incapacitated persons and people who have since died. A legal representative or the liquidator of an estate may file on their behalf. Each rider files a separate claim form.

How Much Can You Get?

The $5.1 million CAD is a gross fund. Court costs, court-approved class counsel fees, the representatives' disbursements and administration costs come out first, and the net fund is then divided among valid claims in two layers:

• Common damages. Every eligible rider receives this payment. Its amount is not fixed: it equals the net fund, minus all Severity payments, divided by the number of valid claims, so it can be calculated only after every claim has been decided.
• Severity payments. A rider who meets one of the criteria below also receives a lump sum, limited to the single highest category that applies.

Severity categories

• Severity 1 — $20,000 CAD: consulted a regulated health professional between February 21, 2020 and March 11, 2021 about the event, as documented in the medical record, or left the resort by ambulance on the day of the stop.
• Severity 2 — $55,000 CAD: a documented diagnosis linked to the event of mild traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder, a limb fracture, a complicated sprain or a diagnosis the administrator considers equivalent; or documented financial losses over $15,000 CAD.
• Severity 3 — $150,000 CAD: a documented thoracic or vertebral fracture linked to the event, or a diagnosis the administrator considers equivalent; or documented financial losses over $40,000 CAD.

If the net fund is too small to pay everything in full, the appendix sets the common damages payment at $1,000 CAD and reduces each individual award proportionally. Any money left after distribution is subject to the levy of the Fonds d'aide aux actions collectives, and the parties may then ask the court to direct the rest to a third-party organization.

What Proof or Notice ID Is Required?

Every claim requires a completed and signed claim form plus supporting documents. For the common damages payment, the appendix lists two pieces of photo identification and inclusion on the gondola passenger list. A claimant who is not on that list is contacted by the administrator and asked for proof of having been aboard during one of the stops.